Not Without My Daughter

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Not Without My Daughter

PG-13

1991

1h 50m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

50%

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16 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field) is an American woman married to "Moody" (Alfred Molina), an Iranian-American living in the United States. When Moody informs her that he wants her and their daughter, Mahtob (Sheila Rosenthal), to visit Iran with him, Betty is reluctant because of the country's harsh treatment of women. When the family arrives in Iran, Betty discovers that her husband plans to stay in the country for good, and has no intention of letting her or Mahtob return to the United States.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

01/01/2000

3/4

Here is a perplexing and frustrating film, which works with great skill to involve our emotions, while at the same time making moral and racial assertions that are deeply troubling.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

12/12/2022

The film touches on a nerve not completely under anesthesia and, in its moments of tension, is very, very powerful. [Full review in Spanish]

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

12/29/2018

2.5/4

Controversy has long dogged this real-life tale, but it's nevertheless fairly engrossing.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

07/31/2005

2/5

Don Willmott

Filmcritic.com

04/21/2005

2.5/5

relentlessly ugly

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Mia H

@MiaHamm85 Aug 23

Powerful, eye opening, enraging and inspiring! Highly recommend

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Adam K

@AdamK333 Jul 22

Fairly accurate, yet people’s ideology’s, connection, and bias’s will attempt to say otherwise If you feel this movie is not a "accurate representation" of the real world; just know, this movie was based on a non-fiction book about a real lady named Betty Mahmoody. So maybe save face before saying something like that.

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Bb B

@Hhhhhh23456 Jul 13

It was a misrepresentation of the Middle East. It literally got everything wrong …women can pick their children up from school. Nobody dresses like that In their homes or even outside anymore. It rarely rains. People don’t beat their wives like that and nobody just kills animals in front of you. They didn’t even get what the country looks like right. Everything was complete propaganda. Sure the Islamic law has a thing where women can get stuck in Iran but the film fabricated everything. Americans are so stupid especially in Hollywood. The actors didn’t even speak proper Farsi just gibberish. I don’t think they got a single thing accurate besides the Islamic music playing at 4 am and nobody even wakes up for that shit

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Zane T

@ZaneThind May 1

While Field and Molina give excellent performances. This movie fails to have a proper Iranian actor for playing the husband and a proper Midwestern/Michigan woman playing the wife. As the accents are off and the pronunciation of the name Mahtob is way off.

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S A

@roan12 Mar 16

Amazing movie! I was glued to the couch anticipating what would happen next.

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Carlos I

@carlosFibarra 07/17/2025

"Not Without My Daughter," while a powerful and emotionally resonant film, is undeniably fraught with the potential for controversy and accusations of xenophobia, despite its basis in true events. This is a real shame, as at its core, it's a gripping and deeply moving story of a mother's fight for her child, anchored by a truly dynamite and unforgettable performance from Sally Field.

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Brian Gilbert

Director

Sally Field

Betty Mahmoody

Alfred Molina

Moody

Sheila Rosenthal

Mahtob

Roshan Seth

Houssein

Sarah Badel

Nicole

Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - Paradise

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - Where Have You Been?

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - Will You Translate for Me?

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - I Want My Baby!

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - I Forgot Toby Bunny

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - I Won't Leave Her

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - You Can't Leave Her Here

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - We're Home

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - An Iranian Citizen

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Not Without My Daughter: Official Clip - I Want Us to Live in Iran

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Synopsis

Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field) is an American woman married to "Moody" (Alfred Molina), an Iranian-American living in the United States. When Moody informs her that he wants her and their daughter, Mahtob (Sheila Rosenthal), to visit Iran with him, Betty is reluctant because of the country's harsh treatment of women. When the family arrives in Iran, Betty discovers that her husband plans to stay in the country for good, and has no intention of letting her or Mahtob return to the United States.

Director: Brian Gilbert
Producer: Harry J. Ufland, Mary Jane Ufland
Screenwriter: Betty Mahmoody, William Hoffer, David W. Rintels
Production Co: Pathé Entertainment
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 1991, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 13, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.0M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Surround

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